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When working with surfaces in the cloud, optimize drawing performance by setting data referenced surfaces to reference only in Civil 3D.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
2 min.
Transcript
00:03
In this session, we'll explore a way to improve drawing performance when working with data referenced surfaces in the cloud.
00:10
On my screen are the beginnings of a roadway connection project.
00:14
Note that this drawing has been opened from an Autodesk Construction Cloud project.
00:18
In the drawing, I have an existing ground surface called EG.
00:22
This surface is DREF’ed into this file.
00:24
If I expand the Surfaces group in the Prospector, we can see the Data shortcut icon next to the surface name.
00:30
Coming down to the Data shortcuts area under Surfaces, if I select the EG Surface,
00:36
I can see that it's being referenced from a drawing called Surface that's stored within my cloud project.
00:41
So the existing ground surface data is available in this drawing.
00:45
However, the Surface object itself actually lives in that other file.
00:49
I tell you that to tell you this:
00:51
By default, when you data reference a surface, a copy of the surface geometry is retained in the receiving drawing.
00:58
That means that every time this file is opened, the surface is actually loaded twice, first the copy that lives in this file,
01:05
and then the data reference.
01:07
Fortunately, we can eliminate the redundant surface geometry from this drawing.
01:11
To do that, I'm going to visit the Prospector again and select the Surfaces group just beneath the drawing name.
01:17
Then down in the review area, I'll drag over to the right to the Data Reference status column and make sure it's set to reference only.
01:26
As a result, once saved, this parent drawing will have a smaller file size and open faster in a cloud environment.
01:33
So when you're working on a Civil 3D project in the cloud, make sure any data referenced surfaces are set to reference only.
01:40
Doing so will eliminate redundant geometry, optimize file size,
01:43
and provide even better performance when working with referenced surface data.
Video transcript
00:03
In this session, we'll explore a way to improve drawing performance when working with data referenced surfaces in the cloud.
00:10
On my screen are the beginnings of a roadway connection project.
00:14
Note that this drawing has been opened from an Autodesk Construction Cloud project.
00:18
In the drawing, I have an existing ground surface called EG.
00:22
This surface is DREF’ed into this file.
00:24
If I expand the Surfaces group in the Prospector, we can see the Data shortcut icon next to the surface name.
00:30
Coming down to the Data shortcuts area under Surfaces, if I select the EG Surface,
00:36
I can see that it's being referenced from a drawing called Surface that's stored within my cloud project.
00:41
So the existing ground surface data is available in this drawing.
00:45
However, the Surface object itself actually lives in that other file.
00:49
I tell you that to tell you this:
00:51
By default, when you data reference a surface, a copy of the surface geometry is retained in the receiving drawing.
00:58
That means that every time this file is opened, the surface is actually loaded twice, first the copy that lives in this file,
01:05
and then the data reference.
01:07
Fortunately, we can eliminate the redundant surface geometry from this drawing.
01:11
To do that, I'm going to visit the Prospector again and select the Surfaces group just beneath the drawing name.
01:17
Then down in the review area, I'll drag over to the right to the Data Reference status column and make sure it's set to reference only.
01:26
As a result, once saved, this parent drawing will have a smaller file size and open faster in a cloud environment.
01:33
So when you're working on a Civil 3D project in the cloud, make sure any data referenced surfaces are set to reference only.
01:40
Doing so will eliminate redundant geometry, optimize file size,
01:43
and provide even better performance when working with referenced surface data.
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